Through the Days
by Rien V. Taloe
Summary: Collection of drabbles, shorts and ficlets pertaining to Angel Beats, in life, death and life after death. Contains references to my other story Back to Life. Chapter 7: You awake from the accident in the realm of white. And the man that saved you is not there with you.
1. Spiders

**All righty then. A new story of some sort. The reason of posting a story like this is because until I get some new ideas for my other story for Angel Beats! _Back to Life_, I had to find something to do with the other ones in head. So I'll be switching back and forth between this story and _Back to Life._ Sorry for the inconvenience of that. **

**Thanks to Rei Sagara for beta-ing this and my other story. I love you for that xD**

**So, uh, enjoy. And hopefully this first chapter doesn't bore you to death :)**

* * *

Sekine stared at the thing on her bedroom wall with increasing enmity. With a poised slipper in hand (which by the way was Irie's, since there was no way was she going to ruin her slippers with the thing's insides), she crept forward.

The "thing", as she dubbed, was this black spot in her wall. A moving, black spot with eight legs. Her feared enemy, a spider. On her wall. A spider on her wall.

Spiders usually weren't a threat to the blond, but after a few boundaries crossed, there was something that had to be done about it.

See, the spider was has been living in her bedroom corner next to her bed. She never minded it, since it was in the small corner of the room, and other than every night before she went to sleep, she'd have to check that it didn't move from its designated place and was no where closer to reaching her bed. Last time she didn't do that, she awoke to a hairy black beast climbing up the wall she faced. She stayed in bed for the longest time waiting out that (tiny) storm, scared out of her mind. Too early in the morning for that.

This spider was going to do the same thing. Not waking her in the morning, but advancing too near to her comfort zone, the bed. She thought about vacuuming the nuisance away, but leaving her enemy without surveillance sounded too risky at this point.

Sekine took small steps towards the arachnid. _A little bit more... a little bit more..._ she thought as a foot went up and landed on the ground in slow motion. Just less than a foot away, she stopped. She halted after that one step. Her raised hand trembled and she gripped her shaking arm with her other hand.

_But what if... _she looked at her wobbly arm. What if she missed the hit due to her hand and the "thing" jumped at her?

Immediately at the thought, she stepped backwards to her original position, face forward to keep a careful watch on the spider so it wouldn't do anything sneaky behind her back.

Her damned, useless hand finally stopped its distracting action and her racing heart slowed considerably. Another look at the spider showed that it didn't move.

An idea struck her at that moment.

The blond mustered the rest of wavering courage, swallowing the lump in her throat, bringing up the slipper and took aim. She threw the slipper across the room with all her might. It hit the wall with a 'thud'.

She missed.

And the spider disappeared.

"OH MY GO-"

She screamed and ran, nearly tripping, out of the room, hastily slamming the door. She hyperventilated for a minute, taking deep breaths to regain herself.

She lost her only weapon, shut herself out her own room and was too terrified to go back inside.

"Dammit," she cursed under her breath as she fumbled into the bathroom down the corridor in the Irie household. A new plan would have to be devised to counter this devil.

Closing the door behind her, Sekine thought out the possible paths she could take. Irie's grandmother was out for the evening and Irie herself was out getting groceries, leaving her by her lonesome in the empty house with no one to call for help. If she called Hisako or Yui, then there was no way that they were going to let her live this down. Her pride will be forever tarnished from her inability to kill a stupid spider. Iwasawa...

Iwasawa would probably take it as a game or not even hear her cell phone ringing from her trip in the music world.

_As I thought... it will have to come down to that... _

Drastic times take drastic measures.

Instantly, the blond whipped out her cell phone, the only form of communication in the washroom and dialed the first number she had on speed dial.

Meanwhile at the park, Irie pulled out her own lavender cell phone out of her purse. It was Sekine.

Brushing away a hair from her face, she pulled the device to her ear. "Hello?"

"_Captain! I need help now! Come back to base ASAP!"_

"What? Why?" Irie glanced to her side.

"_Just do i- HOLY MOTHER OF-!"_ The line went dead.

Uh... what the hell?

"Was that Sekine?" the person next her asked. It was Ooyama whom she just _coincidentally_ happened to meet on her way back to her house. Coincidentally.

"Yeah, but it was nothing important." It really was. Ooyama smiled.

"I see."

"Sekine is just overreacting to something. She'll be fine. I can stay here a little longer," she said, completely shoving her best friend's plea for help aside to stay with the person she coiwinky-dinkly met.

Coincidentally.

Irie was right. Sekine was overreacting. Over a spider. A spider that was less than an inch big. The blond gripped her phone tightly as she spoke to Irie on the other line. _Oh God, if there is one, please let __Irie return the house soon to rid me of the menace in my precious room._

Her eyes floated to the mirror and her attention was caught on a black thing slowly descending down from the ceiling. Her mind worked slowly as she tried to figure out what it was.

_Black... thing...?_

…_Oh crap._

"HOLY MOTHER OF-! OH MY GOSH!" She thrashed her arms wildly at the thing that was at a few inches from arriving at the top of her head. One of her hands swatted the thing down and it landed it the sink.

_That damned freaking spider!_

Again, like what she did to her room, she ran out and slammed the door. _The devious little bug!_

"That was a cowardly trick!" she yelled into the bathroom. How did it get into the locked room?

She stumbled back to her room. For now, it was spider free. There was no use in closing the door if the menace can easily slip through her only defense. She didn't even bother in picking up Irie's slipper as she went to her bed to await Irie's return.

As luck would have it, her sensitive ears heard the echo of the said girl's "I'm back" from the house entrance. She raced down and glomped the drummer. The two fell backwards, the plastic bags of food going down with them.

"Shiorin! What's the matter with you?" Irie pushed off Sekine from her body.

"Thank god you're back!"

"Yeah..."

Sekine pulled her up and dragged her to where she was headed. "Hey wait, the groceries-"

"No time for that!" the blond snapped. She burst open the bathroom door, surveying the area. Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Where's the spider?"

"Spider?" Sekine brought her back for a _spider?_ Irie shook her head disapprovingly. "You brought me back here for a spider?"

"It's not just any old spider. It's some sort of super spider hyped up on something, I swear!" Just like you are, Sekine.

The bassist gasped suddenly and rushed to her room. Irie followed reluctantly.

"There!" Sekine pointed at her wall. The spider was back on her wall, like it never moved. "Look at it staring at me! Mocking me," she scrutinized the fiend.

Irie sighed, picked up her slipper (Sekine gasped), and squished the thing before it could say its last words, all in one fluid motion. Sekine fell to her knees.

"Miyukichi... you're my savior. I bet it was doing all those tormenting things because I vacuumed up his brother."

"I don't why you're making such a fuss. It's just a small spider. You don't mind the one outside your window."

"My window?" Her face paled.

"Yeah. See?" she lifted the blinds.

Right in the middle of the glass was a banana spider. A five-inch banana spider.

Sekine shrieked.

The oversized insect twitched.

She screamed again.

"I can't believe you never noticed it there," Irie said blatantly. She tapped the glass and spider moved down a little from its overly large web.

"Miyukichi," Sekine grabbed the rubbing alcohol from her vanity, "where's the lighter?"

"It should be in the cabinet in the kitchen. Why?"

"No reason," Sekine walked out of the room.

Irie lowered the blinds.

_What could she do with those things?_

_...Wait._

_Sekine plus rubbing alcohol plus lighter plus spider equals..._

…

The scent of smoke drifted into the house.

_Shit._

"SEKINE! COME BACK HERE!"

* * *

**So how was that? After going back through it, I feel like it has a bit of crack in it. This was actually based on something that happened to me.**

**Gah, spiders!**


	2. My Demonic Angel

**Ok new update. A drabble... or poem?**

**Anyway, enjoy.  
**

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I should despise you

_But I feel a strange attraction to you_

Always interfering

_Our war against life's absurdity_

Wanting us disappear from this paradisaical place

_Or Hell?_

Looking down from your high pedestal

_Your position in "Heaven"_

We rip your wings out

_You fall_

Slipping into our humanly level

_Authority gone_

The overwhelming strength remains

_Angel from heaven_

Wriggles closer and closer to us

_Or me?_

"I think we could have been friends."

_Why did I say that?_

We're enemies

_Angel residing in this paradise of souls_

Demon that constantly opposes our ambition

_**My demonic angel**_

**

* * *

**

**Anyone wanna guess whose point of view this is on? I think it's kinda obvious. xP  
**

**And to _Insert Spiffy Name Here: _**

**I got the request you had all planned out and typing. Expect it in a few!_  
_**


	3. Promise

**I had trouble writing this. Not the plot of anything, that was kinda easy. The idea for this chapter came to me immediately after I saw the request. What was hard was making the characters be in character.**

**Also pray for Japan. May they recover from the earthquake and tsunami disaster quickly and be reunitied with their loved ones.**

* * *

Ooyama ventured through the busy concrete sidewalks in the city. One side on the street, where he was at, had a crowd-filled arcade of carefree teens and kids and the other side held a what looked like from his view a comfortable restaurant, waiters and waitresses buzzing around, taking orders and delivering them. The sweet scent of the confectioneries wafted out of the open windows and into the outside, mixing with the air. The afternoon sun painted skies above orange and light red.

He considered crossing the street to sate his sudden craving for a sugared delight, but at the corner of his eye, he spotted a girl, no older than himself, peering into a crane machine with an almost frustrated expression on face, though only a hint of it shown through the mask of apathy that she always wore. Her dark clothing stood out of the bright colors around her.

"What are you doing?" he tried sneaking up on her, but was easily noticed by her heightened senses.

Shiina turned around, unimpressed. "...What are you doing?"

"I asked that first," he laughed lightly. Gawking over Shiina's shoulder at the machine, he found the contents somewhat amusing. "You want one of those?" he pointed to the stuffed animals contained inside.

"..." she stayed silent, arms crossed. She averted eye contact with his.

He smiled at her impassiveness, "Do you have a coin?" She looked at him, still without any sign of emotion as she shook her head, her dark scarf following the left and right movements.

He began to rummage through his blue jeans pockets.

"Uh, I thought I had one... Ah, found it!" he lifted the shiny copper filled circle and slipped into the slot. The machine whirred to life.

As the electronic music played, Ooyama's right hand hovered the red button, the other controlling the giant metal claw with the control stick. "I'm surprisingly good at these games," he turned around at the girl for a brief moment before going back to the game, "In a way, this may a skill. Not a useful one though."

The silver claw lowered clutched an animal by the head and dropped it into the rectangular container. Ooyama lifted the red hatch and pulled out a stuffed dog. It was brown and a bright red cotton collar was attached to its neck.

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, ruffling his rust colored hair, "I wasn't sure which one to get, so I just got this one. Is it ok?" he held it out.

Shiina took it cautiously, covering her mouth with her scarf. Ooyama could barely hear the muffled "thanks" from the dark shawl. He smiled.

"You like puppies, right?"

Shiina glanced at him, "...What about it?" She cradled the plushie close to her chest.

"N-nothing, nothing at all!" His arms flew in a motion that probably didn't mean anything.

"H-hey! Can you meet me at the park, the one right down the block tomorrow?" he said. A last ditch excuse to continue speaking to the ninja. Shiina was the type to speak no more than what was necessary.

"...Why?" Her red eyes seemed to probe through his being, searching for his reasoning for invitation. Ooyama fidgeted and turned heel.

"Just be there, okay! At ten a.m. sharp! It's a promise!" he shouted as he began to run down the sidewalk.

Shiina stood there, questioning herself whether to reply or not, though the youth was already gone.

"How shallow minded."

Shiina stood next to the tall evergreen with thoughts of leaving the verdant lot was nagging at her mind. Instead of being in this park, she should be training.

Yet, she was standing in a park. Children-filled and laughter all around.

She leaned as far as could into the shadow of the green giant. Her watch told her that it was 10:45. She scowled in dissatisfaction.

He was late.

Very late.

She should just leave right now.

Shiina walked out of the shade, narrowing her eyes at the brightness of the sun as she looked up to the sky. Blue skies outstretched forever into the azure. A perfect day for training. The cool breeze kissed her cheek.

She walked to the nearby bench before she stopped.

"How foolish of me." she muttered under her breath.

Ninjas don't break promises. Even if they were... forced.

It was her family's law, rule, and order.

"_Just be there, okay! At ten a.m. sharp! It's a promise!"_

He said to be here. A promise.

She sat down on the wooden bench, staring at the loud children in front of her, yards away.

Just a little longer. She had the patience to wait. This could some sort of training. To test her will, her diligence.

"S-sorry I'm late!"

Shiina turned around. Ooyama was running, up to her, with something like a red rope in his hand.

No... not rope. A leash?

Her eyes followed the leash from his hand to the ground.

Attached to the end of the leash was a collar. A collar belonging to a puppy. A light brown puppy that what looked like dragging the male to her direction.

Ooyama dropped on to the bench, heaving. A drop of sweat rolled down his forehead and dripped to the ground. The puppy barked and Ooyama scooped the tail-wagger up and set it in between them on the wooden bench. The young canine nipped at the ends of her scarf before laying on its side, snuggling closer to the ninja. Shiina fought off the heat raising to her face, trying to keep her composure. She buried nearly half of her face into the shawl.

"I'm sorry I'm late, even though I was the one who told you to come here. But this girl here-" he rubbed the top of the puppy's head, "-didn't want to put the collar on and kept pulling in all sorts of directions."

The irritation Shiina had earlier disappeared in an instant. The smile and the puppy- _the puppy_- made it evaporate. She stroked the soft fur of the canine. It's tail swished side to side in happiness. The corner of her mouth cracked into a smile.

"...You like cute things, right?" he began, uncertainly, noticing Shiina's absence of attention on him, "I figured I let you see her." Ooyama said.

Shiina snapped back into reality. She was so engrossed in the animal that she nearly forgot about him.

"Y-yeah."

"I just got her yesterday. Fujimaki-kun and I found her wandering around our school campus. I didn't want to give her to the animal shelter, so I decided to take her in right after school was out. Then I saw you when I went out to get some dog food."

The animal whined and went to Ooyama. Shiina held back the urge to coax back to her.

"What's wrong? Hungry?" He pulled out a small paper bag from his jacket pocket and reached inside. He held a handful of bone shaped treats when he pulled his hand out. The puppy pawed at his closed hand. Shiina watched tentatively.

"Sit," Ooyama commanded. The dog obeyed, sitting on its bottom. He grinned and petted the top its head. "Good girl," he opened his hand and the dog voraciously devoured the food. "And you just ate before coming here too."

Not only was it cute, it was smart.

Perfect qualities for a ninja dog.

Ooyama held the bag to Shiina. "Wanna try?"

She grasped the sack and did what Ooyama did. She opened her mouth, but the command for the puppy couldn't come out of her throat. She hesitated but nevertheless, her hand opened and the puppy gorged down the treats. The rough tongue tickled her skin. Saliva was all over her hand, but she didn't mind. It was one of the rare events where could she feed a puppy and a little drool wasn't going to ruin it.

"This puppy... what it's name?"

"Huh? It's name?" Ooyama put a hand on chin, thinking. Shiina quirked an eyebrow at this. "...You want to give her a name?" he said finally.

"You didn't give her a name?"

"Well, uh, like I said. I just got her. I couldn't decide a name for her. So..." he twiddled with his fingers, "I thought you would be good at this. When I saw you, I kinda wanted you to help out with a name," he laughed nervously. "T-that was really selfish of me. Sorry."

"...Kuni," she said barely audibly.

"Eh?" He looked at the ninja with wide eyes. "What was that?"

"Kuni," Shiina repeated with more confidence. "Her name will now be Kuni." The animal barked.

"W-why?"

"...You don't get it?" she asked.

"Get what?"

"How shallow minded." she muttered. It didn't matter anyway. She gave back the paper bag. "Take it. She needs more discipline. Overfeeding is gluttony. Unacceptable for training."

"Whaa-! You're going to train her?"

"Of course. She has potential."

"But she-" Ooyama was cut off from his retort by the jingle of his phone ringtone. He fished it out of his pocket and flipped it open, scanning it swiftly. He frowned slightly.

"Fujimaki-kun wants me help him with something. I think he lost another mahjong game to Hisako again," he said, putting the phone back into his pocket, "I have to go." He lifted the puppy from the bench and set her down on the dirt path. Kuni sniffed at the ground.

"...I see." Shiina looked at Kuni, concealing her mild disappointment.

"Uh, to make up for it, I'll give her back here again next week," he clapped his hands together apologetically, "You're free next Saturday, right?"

Now she was. "Yeah."

"Good, ah-!" Kuni was already yanking him away from the crimson-eyed female. "I-I'll see you then! And this time I won't be late! Promise!" he shouted.

Shiina stared after them until they were out of sight. Ooyama's cries grew quieter and quieter. The noise left was from the children.

She leaned back into her seat.

Promise...

Honorable ninjas don't break code, law or rule. Promises as well. They never break promises. They put their lives on the line to keep that promise.

So, with that in mind, it looks like she can move training to another day next week.


	4. Mapo Tofu

The footsteps echo in the barren building. Two figures walk toward an empty table. The young man pulls out a chair for the shorter girl to sit in before takings his own seat.

He split his bamboo chopsticks cleanly into two equally slender ones. Both the girl sitting across from him and himself clapped their hands together and say their "thanks for the food" phrase that everyone said before they eat.

He slurped the noodles as quietly as he could. His hand went to the glass of water to the right of his food once. He sipped the liquid that gave the world life, cooling the slight scald from the heat of the freshly cooked bowl of udon.

During the meal, he glanced at the girl more than necessary. The silverware dipped into the red dish in an almost graceful manner. Not a drop would slip out of the spoon as went up. He watched the spoon lift into the air, to her lips that closed around it. The spoon would come out clean and she masticated slowly. She gulped, the muscles in her throat pushing the contents down. She did this action repetitively.

And then she caught his eyes wandering over to her plate instead of his own bowl of niku udon.

"Yuzuru?" she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Huh? What?" Otonashi put his chopsticks down, "Nothing, I was just thinking."

Her amber eyes glinted with curiosity, "About what?"

"Well, uh, Kanade," he paused for some bit of thought, "why do you like mapo tofu so much?"

"Eh?" the student council president seemed taken aback for a moment. "I like mapo tofu?" she questioned, more directed to herself than her companion.

"You always choose to eat that instead of the other things on the school menu, so I figured that it's your favorite food."

She stirred the red soup, chunks of tofu swirling around in a clockwise direction.

"I tried it before but it was way too spicy for me. Really good, but too spicy. I drank a lot of water because of it," he said.

Kanade ate another spoonful of mapo tofu, her plate already half gone while Otonashi's was still filled.

He continued, "Do you like it because it's spicy?"

"I don't know. I... just like it."

"Hmm," he started to eat again, "...do you think you can meet with me tomorrow after school?"

Out of habit, she thought over the request, wanting to know the prescience. "Why?"

"There's something I want to show you," Otonashi answered without a moment's lost.

She nodded, agreeing to whatever he had in store for her in the following day.

* * *

"What...are we doing here?" the silver haired girl asked.

"This is the home economics class," Otonashi went closer to the stovetop counter used by the Cooking class, "don't worry, I have permission from one of the teachers," he laughed.

"But-"

"No one's here. As long as we clean up after, then there's no problem."

"So, what are we doing here?" she repeated her previous question.

Otonashi pulled out a black pan from one of the cabinets. He waved it eagerly, "Cooking."

Her fingertips glided over the smooth counter surface as she walked closer to him, "Cooking what?"

He smiled, "Mapo tofu."

"But why?"

"You like it right? So I thought that we could try making some ourselves."

"...I can always get it at the school cafeteria-" she twisted he body to the direction of the door.

Otonashi places the black pan on the stove and turned on the burner. She whipped her head to him and shifts it the stove, observing the blue flames dance.

"We're already here and you have the time. Why not try? That way, you can cook it whenever you want at your place," he urged. Pointing to the cutting board he added, "Can you cut up the garlic? I have the tofu already to use when we get to it."

Kanade frowned slightly, still unsure about the decision, but sliced the garlic into fine pieces anyway, carefully trying to avoid the sharp edge of the knife away from her slender fingers. She moves on the ginger, slicing it thinly.

Otonashi poured in the sesame oil and put the ground pork into the skillet, waiting for it thoroughly cook before putting the chopped garlic and ginger. "Cut the chives too."

Kanade began her work on the greens. The scent from the pan was getting aromatic. Just the smell was starting to make her mouth to salivate. Her lips began to pull into smile.

He put in the condiments; stirring constantly until the contents was a glossy caramel-like brown. He poured in the sake, evaporating the liquid but leaving the flavor. "Hand me the chicken stock—that measuring cup—yeah, that one. And the soy sauce and the rest of the sake. Thanks."

Her eyes stayed on his hands, mixing the pan lightly, "You know a lot about cooking."

"Well, I can't be eating instant ramen and fast foods all my life," he said simply, "want to put the tofu in?"

She picked up the plate of diced tofu that was set to the side.

"Put in the tofu carefully so it won't break."

She followed his directions, cautiously handle with the soy ingredients. She put in the chives next. The green contrasted with the red deliciously.

Otonashi added the water-diluted potato starch.

"Here," he took her petite hand and put on the handle, his hand over hers. She looked up at him questioningly.

"Swirl the pan so the potato starch gets mixed in. If I use the wooden spatula, I might break the tofu."

"…"

He set the skillet back on the burner, her hand hesitantly leaving his own, "Now let it boil for a bit and it'll be ready to serve."

They waited just until the volume of tofu dish began to boil and transferred the contents into a large bowl.

Otonashi plated up Kanade's and his serving of mapo tofu. "I don't think that this one will be as spicy as the one in the school cafeteria. You want some hot sauce or something?" he offered.

She shook her head, "This is fine."

"Are you sure? The hot sau-"

She inhaled in the aroma,"This is okay the way it is," she gave him a exulted smile, "I don't want to put anything in it this time...because it's the first time that I cooked something with Yuzuru. I don't want to put anything extra in it." Kanade swallowed a spoonful of tofu, "It tastes wonderful."

Otonashi scratched his cheek sheepishly; his deep saffron bangs covering most of his face, "O-oh. I see."

"Yuzuru? Your face is getting red."

"W-what? It's nothing. This mapo tofu is spicy, that's all."

She titled her head, puzzled, "But we didn't put anything spicy in it."

He cleared his throat awkwardly, "L-let's just eat. It's going to get cool if we don't hurry." He shoved another spoonful into his mouth.

Kanade stared at the fruit of her and Otonashi's efforts, mumbling a few words before going back to her meal.

"Thank you."

* * *

**By the way, if anyone wants the recipe for Mapo Tofu, go to youtube. Type in "cookingwithdog" in the search box (without the quotes of course). They are amazing. Thanks to them for making a video on how to make Mapo Tofu. **

**The chef really cooks with a dog by her side. Not cooks dog, but cooks with a dog. Don't get confused.  
**


	5. God Bless You

Snow fell slowly, gracefully floating down and landing atop layer upon layers of more ice crystals. The white blanket of cold continued to drape the quiet city.

In contrast to the peaceful scene, Yuri's house inside was quite lively. Warmth filled the entire proximity, providing a comfort to the biting chills outside its walls.

It was a Christmas party, planned and hosted by the Afterlife Battlefront leader, Yuri, at her house in the bustling city of Tokyo. She had recently moved into the new complex and decided to throw a Christmas Eve celebration and home-warming all mashed up together into one big party, insisting that she should get two presents from everyone instead of one, much to her subordinates' chagrin.

"Hm?" Hisako turned around, breaking away from her conversation with Fujimaki and Ooyama. "Where did Iwasawa go?" she asked, noticing that the said vocalist was absent from the festivities.

Yuri stepped forward, eggnog in hand. She sipped her cup before replying. "I think Iwasawa-san stepped outside for a bit."

"Eh? Why?"

Yuri shrugged, "Have no idea why. It's freezing out there."

Otonashi, overhearing the two girls, entered their discussion. "Well, shouldn't we get someone to bring back in? She's missing everything."

Yuri pursed her lips, eyebrows knitted in thought, "I know. She'll get sick if she stays out there for too long too." She scanned the room. "Hey Naoi, go outside and bring Iwasawa-san back."

Naoi uncrossed his legs, fixed his black cap and gave Yuri a glare from his seat from the leather couch. "Hah? Why should someone like me do that? Go get your pieces of scum to do your work, not me."

Yuri sighed. "Hey, Otonashi," she nudged him with her elbow, motioning him to a do something. Otonashi laughed awkwardly and complied to his leader's wishes. "Say, Naoi. Isn't it better if everyone was here celebrating this party? It's not fair that we're here enjoying ourselves, while Iwasawa is out in the cold. We should get her back in her with us."

Naoi pouted slightly, "T-that may be true, but she went outside on her own accord. Why should I—"

"C'mon Naoi, just this once," Otonashi insisted.

The former student council vice-president sighed in defeat. "If you require me to do so, then for Otonashi-san's sake, I will." He stood and started walking towards the door. He was about to turn the bronze handle before a warm cloth hit the back of his head. He whipped around sharply, olive green orbs glowering with mild irritation. He pulled off the material off his head and held out like it carried some sort of infectious disease, holding it between the tips of his fingers. "What's this for?"

Hisako grinned at him, "Don't worry, it's not for you. Red isn't your best color anyway," she said, earning Naoi's direct glare. "It's for Iwasawa. Make sure you give that scarf to her."

"Who said I was your delivery man? I'm not here to deliver things because you're too lazy to, you—"

"All right, all right! Just go already!" Yuri opened the door and pushed Naoi out into the cold, locking the entrance with a "click".

Naoi shivered violently for a moment, his body adjusting the sudden change of temperature. His breath puffed white clouds of condensation as he warmed his hands. "Damn that Yuri," he muttered silently, a faint ring of scarlet appearing in his irises. Naoi glanced at the blocked doorway. Seeing how there was no one with him at the moment to use his hypnotism on to earn entry back inside the toasty house, Naoi scoffed and subdued his bewitchment.

He clicked his tongue in aggravation at the blanched surroundings. No one was even out here.

"Making me do something as lowly as this..." He trudged forward begrudgingly.

Naoi walked towards the corner of the block, searching the area for any sign of the guitarist as rolled the scarlet muffler in to a cylinder.

Across the ashen coated street, the only thing that didn't have a immaculate white hue in the frigid expanse was the red chroma stationed at the playground of the park. That must be her.

Nothing else was beside her. The girl sat on the rusty swings quietly by herself, her legs creating enough momentum to push her slightly forward and halting her to stop to repeat the process again and again repetitively. Dull groans resounded with the start of every cycle of the iteration. White dusted her shoulders and hair, reflecting the fact she has been there for some while now. She looked blankly at the gray sky, her hands stiff from gripping the iron chains.

Naoi came up to her slowly, her shoes crunching against the snow. "Hey." He called out, trying to catch her lost attention.

She flinched, reality bringing her back. She looked over her shoulder hesitantly. "...Oh," she said, sounding somewhat crestfallen, "It's just you."

"'Just you'?" Naoi repeated disapprovingly, "You should be more grateful that God was come down for someone like you." He handed out the muffler to her. "Take this."

Iwasawa hesitated to take the scarf as her finger joints were numbed and fixed from the cold. When she managed to pry her frozen digits off the metal, she seized the scarf rigidly. "Sorry for making you go through all this trouble to give this me,"she said, placing the material on her lap, not putting it on. She clenched her fingers to get rid of remaining numbness.

"What... are you doing way over here?" He asked, stepping closer to Iwasawa.

Iwasawa looked upward, holding her palm facing the sky. "I was never really fond of those kind of get-togethers. Social gatherings can get a little uncomfortable for me if I stay there for too long so I thought I would get some air and go back inside later." She paused, catching the thin snowflakes, feeling the moisture of the ice melting upon contact with her skin, "Before I knew it, I had already wandered off and got lost in some thought," she said, looking at Naoi.

He shifted awkwardly to the side, folding his arms across his chest. "W-what?"

"Aren't you cold?"

After standing around at these kind of temperatures, of course he would. But Naoi bit his tongue in order to keep back from snapping at the redhead for asking such rhetorical question and decided to stay quiet.

Much to his surprise, Iwasawa motioned to the swing next to her. "Here, sit. You're going to get tired from standing too long." She must have mistaken his reticent as fatigue. "And use this if you want." The guitarist offered back the scarf he just delivered for her.

"Hah?" Naoi looked at her in disbelief. "I just gave you that. If you're not going to use it, then there was no reason for me to give to it you in the first place. It would defeat the entire purpose," He crossed his arms indignantly, "I refuse."

"I'm used to the cold by now," she averred coolly. " You can use it."

"No way I'm going to use some—" He sneezed. A light rosy tint blossomed slowly on his face and he turned away.

She held it up higher, smirking. "You should take this."

"No! I—"

"I'll take one end of the scarf, then will you use the other end?" Iwasawa suggested, "Is that okay with you? There's no harm in negotiating." She unfurled the crimson cloth, watching it fall down to her boots. She laughed lightly, "What's with this thing? Hisako got a really long scarf." Iwasawa gathered the felt fabric and once again held out to her companion.

Naoi hesitantly sat on the swing that was a good feet next to the guitarist, the metal rings screeched with the new weight. He took the end of the fabric and wrapped around his neck once, not daring to look at the redhead. Iwasawa coiled the other end around her own in satisfaction.

Silence enveloped the two, encompassing them in the pallid background as the snow continued to fall.

Naoi didn't how long it was until she spoke again, in the same lax tone.

"Do you like snow?"

He rocked back and forth on his swing, his feet making trenches in the ground. "I never gave it much thought. But... I... don't like it much. When it snows, everything becomes cold and chilly. In winter, the autumn frondescence rots away along with its color. I dislike this season and whatever it drags along with it." An image of his ill father flashed in his mind for an instant. "Everything dies."

She smiled softly, "Then we're opposites," Iwasawa brushed away the fresh coat of snow from her pleated skirt. Naoi hadn't noticed until now how she was dressed in this cold weather. The girl must be going nuts or something. "To me, it looks more like a blank canvas or a new sheet of paper, cleared off to be reused. Just look around. What do you see?"

"Nothing. I see white all over the place," he deadpanned.

"Right," Iwasawa nodded sagely, ignoring the satire, "White is a neutral color; being able to create an infinite amount of shades and tones. When the snow melts, you will be able to see all kinds of color, ones that you haven't seen before and ones you have. It's a pretty beautiful thing."

"Is that what you've been thinking of the entire time you have been out here?" he asked, "Pondering over something as pointless as that?"

Iwasawa stared at the white landscape benevolently, "It may be pointless, yes. But I couldn't help but to think about it anyway. The idea of it had always been there, but it only emerges at the start of winter." Her vermillion eyes become wistful with hiemal memories, "I spent a good amount of my childhood brooding about this same thing over and over when I had nothing else to do and didn't want to go home on days like this."

Naoi nuzzled his face deeper into the scarf, absorbing in what the vocalist said. "I didn't think you had any other thoughts in that head of yours except for your songs and music. You're surprisingly a bit philosophic."

Iwasawa shook her head, "Not at all, It's a mere musing of mine, nothing related to the works of Plato or Socrates. I just felt like sharing it with you. But it must have sounded like a bunch of jargon or strange rambling to you. Sorry for making you listen," she apologized.

"What are you saying?" He tilted his hat so he could have a better look at her, "God always listens to what to his people say. Those idiots back to Yuri's are the ones that I would decline to hear. Excluding Otonashi-san. He is only one back at that house of buffoons that I would devote any of my attention to."

"Then, am I also one of the people that you will give you attention to?" she asked in a curious, almost teasingly tilt of the head.

"O-of course not!" Naoi denied vigorously, a subtle rosy color rising to his cheeks after noticing his slip. He did his best to gather up a glare, but only it served to fuel her amusement further.

"Really?" Iwasawa smiled at the vice-president as she continued on wryly, "Your face had gotten a bit red."

Naoi's face darkened even more at her sly comment, "Idiot! I-it's because it's so cold out here!" He hastily removed the scarlet material from his neck, fighting off the urge to shiver from the frosty kisses on his bare skin. Naoi shoved the scarf back into the arms of the girl and turned heel. "I'm heading back! O-otonashi-san might need me." He adjusted his hat to cover some of his blush, "Thanks for letting use your scarf."

"I see." Iwasawa said, unable to hide the note of levity as she spoke. "Be careful while you walk. The ground is slippery."

"You're not leaving yet?"

"I'll stay a little longer. Night won't fall until a few hours so I can bear to be out here for a while more. After all, Yuri intends on keeping the party going all night. I won't miss too much." Iwasawa reasoned. "What? Worried?"

"Not in the slightest!" He began to walk away. "I'll be taking my leave then. See you later."

"Yeah, later," Iwasawa murmured as she watched his figure slowly disappear from her line of vision in the steady shower of white.

_"God Bless You."_

* * *

**Out of season. This chapter is totally out of season. But it's still cold where I'm at. Ugh.**

**Bet you thought that you never see an update for this huh? I have a couple more on the way that will probably be uploaded in conjunction with the next chapter of "Back to Life" comes out later. Hopefully, you can bear with me until then. I do have a Valentines (also pretty late) short that I want to put up as well. Till then.**

**My eternal gratitude to Rei Sagara for all things that she did for me last year and the time to come. :D Thanks.  
**


	6. Trying New Things

** So _Insert Spiffy Name Here_, do you remember asking for a Iwasawa and Hisako fic about a year ago? I do, and so I have created one just for you, in all it's amazing tardiness. If you're still here with me, I hope you enjoy. That goes for anyone else who it happens to read this ramble up here in bold. :)**

* * *

"Iwasawa..."

Her murmur dragged out the name restlessly.

"...Hm?"

The other girl in the otherwise empty room, save for those two, gave a grunt in response to her name.

Hisako set her Jazzmaster guitar back on its black stand and stood up. She picked up her chair and dragged it towards Iwasawa, its legs scraping the floor irritatingly. Iwasawa winced at the ear-piercing noise, but she didn't let go of her pencil in hand. She continued to write on her paper as she sat in the desk in the corner of the room.

Hisako set her chair next to the redhead, watching her hand fly across the paper in elegant and nimble movements. She stared for a few moments in awe at how her friend could come up with such complex patterns of musical notation so fast, before speaking.

"Hey, Iwasawa. Don't you think you should take a break from making more songs?"

Iwasawa didn't stop scribbling on her manuscript paper, not to even look at the brunette. "...Why?" she asked plainly, very much engrossed in her work.

Hisako rocked back and forth on her chair, "'Cause all you've been doing is composing more music. Let's try new things for a change, something new. Something we can both try out, together. It'll be fun!"

Another "why?" was her answer. Hisako groaned exasperatedly.

Seeing that words may not be enough to convince the music fanatic, Hisako went over to the curtains covering the large windows in the abandoned classroom and opened them wide, letting the sun illumination spill in. Hisako squinted for a second as her pupils dilated accordingly to the incoming light. "Look Iwasawa!" She slammed her hand onto the window, the palm of her hand immediately feeling the warmth of the revealed glass. "It's a great day to be outside. It's not healthy to be indoors all the time. C'mon, we should be doing something outside, playing sports out on the field or something! Anything!" she exclaimed in an oracular mirth.

"You mean, _you _just want to play outdoor sports and the like," Iwasawa put down her silver lead pencil, tapping the lead against the desk to push it back into the pencil. She rested her head on the palms of her hands as she looked at Hisako. "What's with you, wanting these things all of a sudden?"

"It's not all of a sudden! We've been cooped in this classroom everyday now. We don't go to class, and Yui and the others are off doing weird... crap... like...playing pranks... and stuff. The band hasn't been busy with concerts or lives lately. Yuri doesn't need us for anything anytime soon," Hisako huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Disinterest was evident on Iwasawa's features. The redhead stretched her limbs wearily, "But we can't join any clubs or else we'll disappear."

"It's okay! We can just pretend that we want to try out for a club and participate in their activities for a day. Then we'll just deny their requests to join afterward," she waved it off dismissively, "We'll hang around for a bit, and leave. That's okay, isn't it?"

Iwasawa was still not completely convinced, "I guess... but—"

"'But what? It's better than staying in some dark, empty classroom all day 'til lights out." Hisako paused when Iwasawa's uninterested expression was visibly unwavered to the proposition, "...And maybe, by some odd random reason, you might get a new idea for a song as you try something new?" she squeaked out the last bit slowly, hoping that it would bring about change in Iwasawa's standing.

It worked to a certain degree. Hearing the last bit made Iwasawa feel slightly conflicted at the proposal. On one hand, what Hisako said held some truth to it. Back when she was still alive, Iwasawa never had a reason to join a club or play a sport so doing so now would bring about new experiences for her. But...

Her eyes drifted over to her manuscript. Her newest musical piece was almost finished. It would be a shame if she left it incomplete when it was in its final stages of completion. Iwasawa considered herself to be one of those people who couldn't bear to leave something incomplete. It was one of the habits she had, a quirk of hers almost.

"I promise it will be a day, or few at the most," Hisako added.

But a day without music seemed so dreadfully long! Was it even possible for her to last 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds or longer?

The brunette clapped her hands together in solicit, "Please! Please, Iwasawa. It'll be to my benefit and yours, I swear. I'll make sure that you won't regret it!"

Iwasawa sighed at Hisako's sincere request. Was it really that important to her?

In the face of such earnestly, it was in her best interest to go along with what the brunette desired. Otherwise, it would mean constant pestering until she conceded.

"Fine," she finally answered, "I'll do it."

And so it begins.

* * *

Remembering their previous conversation, Iwasawa felt a twinge of regret. It was now that she fully realized that she really didn't want partake in this—any of this for that matter. After hearing that morning of what Hisako planned to do, she was instantly dispassionate to the thought.

First on the agenda, was track and field. In short: running. A dull activity for the redhead.

Hisako said earlier that this should be considered to be a warm-up. After all the sitting around that Iwasawa did writing music or practicing playing guitar by herself (which was often, since band practice wasn't always an everyday thing), track would be the best way to condition her body for the days ahead. Stamina was also a key in any sport, so this was a perfect way to do both.

What was it...? "Killing two birds with one stone"? A rather cruel sounding idiom that apparently best fit Iwasawa's present situation.

She pulled down the hem of her white shirt; it had risen after she finished stretching exercises. The sun poured its rays down upon the grounds, signifying it to be a hot day today. Iwasawa wiped her brow.

Ah, UV rays and their damaging effects on a girl's skin.

She turned around, watching Hisako jogging back to her after a brief talk with the track team's captain. The compromise must be set then.

Hisako grinned widely at her best friend. "Now, don't give me that look," she acknowledged the tiny frown on Iwasawa's lips. "There's no use backing out of this now. You agreed to this, so liven up. It won't be as bad as you think."

"What about Yui and the others? Weren't they going to do this too?"

"Those three," the brunette referred back to Yui, Irie and Sekine, "they backed out on it at the last minute. Yui suddenly changed her mind and dragged Sekine and Irie to whatever she was doing."

A mildly disappointing outcome. Iwasawa was hoping them to show. If she had to go through with all of this, then she figured that the other band members should as well.

_Tweet!_

A high-pitched whistle blow echoed in the dry air.

Hisako patted Iwasawa's shoulders encouragingly. "There's your cue." She gave the girl a light push. "Do your best out there!"

_Oh yeah... sure, _Iwasawa thought sarcastically. She walked over to the starting line along with the NPC members, recognizing a few of them from seeing them in the front row of the Girls Dead Monster's concerts.

Ah, what a pain! Not only did she have to do all of this, she'll have to do it with the NPCs!

"Okay, you all ready?" an NPC girl asked to the running starters. The rest of the track members bellowed out a hearty response. Iwasawa merely nodded her head.

The girl continued, "Then, we will start now. Runners, on your mark... get set... GO!"

They sprinted quickly down the track lines.

_Wow, _Iwasawa thought, _they sure are fast. _The redhead watched their backs grow farther and farther away from here as she jogged leisurely, the distance increasing with each step.

Yup, jogging. Not even considered to be a run.

Hisako stood at the side, shocked. The NPC captain pointed nervously at the redheaded vocalist. "Um, she does realize that she is supposed to be trying to racing with them, right?" she asked uncertainly.

Hisako face-palmed. "Yeah, she knows." And she knows very well how much this was pissing Hisako off so much right now.

"Do... you think she'll run faster if she has some type of motivation? Like, uh... encouragement?" the captain suggested. The gap between Iwasawa and the others had become quite large. "She probably won't be able to beat them, but she could at least catch up with some of them."

The brunette nodded, "That might work. But, what kind of motivation...?" Hisako furrowed her brows in thought as she ruminated before she snapped her fingers loudly in revelation. "Then, maybe this will work..." She cupped her hands around her mouth to make the sound travel farther. She breathed in deeply and yelled.

"Run Iwasawa! Pretend it's a diet!"

"...She's running even slower now."

Track: Mission Failure

* * *

Iwasawa glared at the window, specifically at the lead guitarist's reflection on the shiny surface. She tapped the eraser bottom of her red lead pencil irritably, not sparing the brunette a tiny place from her sullen mood. Hisako clapped her hands together, bowed and apologized profusely for what looked like to have been a while.

Hisako breathed out her last bit of air from her lungs, "I'm really sorry!" She looked up at her friend hopefully.

Iwasawa finally turned around to face the taller girl, remnants of her glower still present, "Out of all the things you could have said in the world, you chose to say that."

"That's because I thought you wanted some motivation to get you going! You weren't even trying to beat those girls!"

"And you call that motivation?"

"It was supposed to be encouragement!" Hisako defended her actions, "You just took it the wrong way!"

"That was the wrong kind of encouragement, Hisako!" Iwasawa huffed, slightly out of character. "With the way you made it sound, of course I would take it the wrong way."

"I'm sorry!" The brunette apologized again, "I just remembered seeing that somewhere and I thought it would be good for the situation." Hisako put her hand on her hips and smiled coyly, "But wow. I didn't expect you to be so sensitive, especially here." She poked Iwasawa's stomach lightly, making the redhead jump slightly and earning herself another glare. Iwasawa swatted her hand away like it was an annoying buzzing fly. Hisako laughed happily at Iwasawa.

"All right, okay," Iwasawa said tiredly. "Just forget about this already. What's next? This is the last time I'm going to do any of this with you."

Hisako grinned slyly but nevertheless, she continued on with her plan.

* * *

The orange ball bounced rhythmically against the glossy wooden surface. Iwasawa watched Hisako dribble the rubber ball and spin it on the tip of her of her fingertips. "I thought we were only going to the practices."

"We are."

"Then, why did we sign up for the team? These are the tryouts," the vocalist asked.

Hisako let the ball fall down onto the floor. "Don't worry about it," she replied reassuringly, though it didn't seem to quell her friend's uncertainty. Seeing that, she added, "It's not like we're gonna join the team, relax. Like I said before, we're only going to stay for the day and leave. It's not like the NPCs will come chase us down and stuff." She hoped they wouldn't anyway.

Sighing exasperatedly, Iwasawa leaned onto the gym wall. Really now? The urge to walk out of the building was gradually growing on her. Out and back to her room where her guitar laid.

"Here."

Iwasawa caught the pass right as the whistle blew. Agh, whistles were everywhere in this school! She allowed Hisako to (begrudgingly) pull her with the other students where they lined up.

The girl's basketball captain stepped forward, clipboard in hand and explaining the procedures for the day. Soon, everyone was seated on the bleachers, waiting to be called on.

"Let's see... Hisako-san," the captain announced. The guitarist leapt to her feet, flashing a quick thumbs-up to the redhead and ran out onto the court. There were only four players, presumably the regulars, other than her out there. All that she needed to do was to get the ball into the basket as quickly as possible. Should be easy enough with Hisako's natural athleticism.

As soon as the orange ball came in contact with Hisako's fingertips, the timer had started. And instantly, the girl was off. Speeding down the court while she dribbled the ball expertly and efficiently sidestepped and passed the blockers, it took only a matter of seconds for her to get deep into her opponents' side.

And right when she was in perfect position to shoot the ball cleanly into the basket, she swerved around and started running back toward her starting point, grinning playfully all the while.

_That girl, _Iwasawa mentally sighed. Now she was just screwing with them. Knowing full well that she could easily end her little tryout with no trouble at all, Hisako decided to mess with the NPCs.

With the vulpine trick of hers, Hisako changed the basketball trial into a full-fledged game, and somehow pulling Iwasawa into it in less than five minutes.

Iwasawa approached the basket quickly, letting Hisako take care of guarding her path. She dodged a block towards her right and swiveled around a block on her left. She leapt forward, allowing the adrenaline to give her strength, excitement building in her body as she performed a lay-up.

The ball didn't even get to travel an inch from her fingertips before it quickly seized by another.

Iwasawa stared at Hisako wide-eyed as she and her went down, still suspended by gravity in air. They touched the ground at the same moment, but Hisako's feet didn't let her stand still for a millisecond. She sped off with the ball away from the surprised Iwasawa.

"Hey! Hisako! What are you doing?"

The brunette's smile grew feline. "Just having some fun!"

The NPCs watched the two play against each other, panting heavily from being unable to keep up. Their presence was completely forgotten from the band members' minds.

Basketball: Mission Failure?

* * *

"Idiot," Iwasawa grumbled as she sat on her bedside, a cloth towel hanging from her shoulders. She pushed back a lock of hair from her face, still wet from her shower. "Why did you do that? We could've gotten the whole thing over with."

"Whose this idiot that you speak of?" Hisako replied, amused with the turn of events that she caused.

"You. You are a complete and utter idiot for pulling a stunt like that."

"Yuri's SSS is composed of idiots. Because you're also part of it, that makes you an idiot too, idiot," Hisako said matter-of-factually. "I wanted to make things interesting too." A white feather-filled pillow hit the brunette's face in response. She laughed it off. "But, you had fun right?"

Honestly, it was. It had been a long while since Iwasawa ran that much (excluding the track incident the other day since that didn't count) or even worked up a sweat. Normally, the most activity she would get from the day would be a long practice with the band or a live concert. Unless Yuri cooked up another crazy scheme to defeat Angel or reach God, that was pretty much it.

"Well," Iwasawa could already feel Hisako's smirking at her, "maybe a little," she admitted.

"See? What'd I tell you?" The lead guitarist wrapped her arm around the vocalist's neck in a friendly manner. "I knew you would have a good time."

Not exactly correct. But nevertheless, it was an... enjoyable experience, she supposed. It wasn't horrible.

Iwasawa clapped a hand over Hisako's and gave it a firm squeeze. Hisako looked at her curiously, tilting her head to look over her friend's shoulder. "Iwasawa?"

The redhead smiled as she shook her head, "No, it's nothing."

Maybe...

She could try to do new things more often.


	7. To the Hero

You awake suddenly, gasping and panting for breath. Your heart batters in your ribcage harshly. You could hear the blood, feel it in the thick common carotid arteries of your throat, race wildly from your heart to your head and back. Clutching your chest, you heave heavily, just like a young child roused from a horrifying nightmare. Looking around, you finally take notice of your surroundings.

White. Everywhere.

The lights reflecting off the blanched walls burn at your eyes; you close them, open, close, and open. When the confusion is gone, your body calms down, and your eyes adjust to the brightness.

Is this heaven? Did you die and fly up into heaven?

Clack!

A nurse (when did she get in here?) at the doorway stares at you disbelievingly and drops her metal tray. She picks it up clumsily when you settle your eyes on her, and she takes off like a retreating animal. "Sensei! Sensei!" she screams, "He's awake!"

Her hollers are agitating and you cringe, pain shooting up and down your temples and the rest of your head. It stings, it hurts, you grimace.

No, no. This isn't heaven. This is the hospital.

You were transported here.

Transported here after being rescued.

Rescued from the accident.

The accident...?

What accident?

Your body is covered by a thin white blanket. Your arms and forehead are bandaged. When you try to lift the cloth off your lower body to check the extent of the injuries, you grunt in pain and stop. You're sore and it hurts like hell. But after attempting to wiggle your legs and toes a bit, you find out that there was nothing too bad with them. Other than the soreness and the injuries, you seem fine.

"Oh." A balding man adorning the familiar alabaster coat walks into the room. "So you are awake." The nurse from before must have retrieved him. Based on his appearance, he must be the doctor, around his 50's or 60's too. "How are you doing? Do you feel okay?" he asks gently but still opulent with prerogative.

"I'm... fine," you croak. The inside of your mouth is horribly dry. "Umm... what...?"

The doctor pulls a chair to your bedside. He searches through some papers in his manila envelope, takes one out, clips it to his clipboard, and brings out a pen. You happen to sneak a peek at a single paper that happened to partly slips out of the folder before the other man quickly slides it back it. He makes eye contact with you and begins to speak. "Do you remember why you are here?"

You lick your chapped lips. "Uh... the accident..." Digging through your jumbled brain for more information, you start to ramble, "The underground subway... it collapsed... dead... a lot of people... and we were trapped inside the tunnel... and... and..."

Someone else, someone else was there with you. He helped, saved you, helped and saved many of the survivors that they could salvage from the destroyed train. Who was he? What was his name? Name...

Name...

"Oto...?" Syllables tumble out from your tongue.

The doctor looks at you expectantly.

"O... Oto... Otonashi? Otonashi!"

That's right! Otonashi! The man you saved you! "Where? Where is he?!" You try to rip the blanket off of you and climb out of the bed to find him, but that damned pain once again prevents you from doing anything and paralyzes you. It doesn't help that this doctor guy was restraining and pinning you down to the bed.

"Please calm down, Igarashi-kun."

"But, Otonashi! He's...!"

You remember the rescue team breaking and piercing through the giant stone rubble, warm arms of sunlight embracing you after days from being enclosed in darkness. Right when you and the others were about to let go of the final thread of hope of being rescued, God had heard your cries and pleas and finally sent down salvation. The feeling of jubilation fills you and you look at Otonashi to enjoy the feeling of joy together, only to see the life disappear from his body.

"Otonashi! Is he dead?!" Gripping weakly to the collar of the doctor, you ask desperately.

The man grasps your hand, easily wrenches himself free, and sets your hands at your side patiently. "Are you a friend of Otonashi-san?" he asks, smiling softly.

"Yes," you say hastily, "is he okay?"

His smile recedes slightly, "He's... alright. For the most part, he collapsed from malnutrition and starvation, just like everyone else who was saved."

"Really?! Then—"

"But he won't have long to live."

It hits you like a ton of bricks, a gut punch to the stomach. "What? Why—"

"He was found in critical condition. His kidneys and liver have major contusion injuries and are rapidly failing and becoming dysfunctional. Many of his ribs are either broken or fractured badly. His lungs are extremely damaged from breathing in the dusty air inside the tunnel. It was a miracle that he managed to survive this long, especially after what you people had to go through."

What? No way. Otonashi didn't appear to be in critical condition. In fact, he was the one that seemed to have the most energetic out all us that were trapped in the tunnel. All he did was care and treat everyone's wounds.

"Otonashi-san underwent immediate emergency surgery and treatment as soon as he was admitted into the hospital. We did the best that we could to make sure that he lives, but he's rendered unconscious—perhaps from the trauma—and since it seems unlikely that he will survive for any more than a week, it has been decided that we're going to pull the plug soon."

"You can't do that! What about his family?!" You counter sharply.

"His younger sister had already passed away. He doesn't have any legal guardians either. The decision was unanimous by the doctors here in the hospital," the doctor notes sadly. "And I heard that Otonashi-san was studying to become a doctor himself in the future. It's truly unfortunate."

No. No, no, no, no. No! Otonashi is a hero! He gave his all to ensure that we all pulled through. He shouldn't die! It was too cruel, too unfair.

"So..." You choke."Otonashi is going to die?"

"Yes. He has no chance of living much longer, unless he receives a transplant."

A transplant?

Organ donor?

"I'll do it. I'll offer my organs to him." Remembering that little card that you signed with Otonashi in the tunnel, you leap at the potential chance of saving this man. Otonashi doesn't deserve this, so you instantly make the choice. "If anyone has to die, I will. I won't let Otonashi die like this!" A sharp jab cleaves at your forehead, and your hand moves to clutch the place where your pain is. The coated man urgently come to your side, providing support.

"Stop it! You shouldn't move! You'll aggravate your injuries—!"

"I don't care!" Shoving him off roughly, you glare determinedly at him. "I said that you can take my organs. Transplant them, whatever you need, and give them to Otonashi!"

"That's too rash! Don't be reckless!" Two nurses rush into the room, their faces filled with worry. The doctor continues, "It has already been decided that Otonashi-san's organs are going to given to someone else—a girl that has been waiting for a long time—after he passes. There's nothing that you can do for him now. It's impossible." He tells you this sullenly and your glare loosens into a morose stare.

"It doesn't matter," you mutter silently, loud enough only for the physician beside you to hear. "It's not like I have a lot of time left anyway, right?"

The doctor glanced at the manila folder, "You saw it?"

You nod slightly, ignoring the dull throb in your head. "Sorry," you suddenly feel penitent, "I took a glimpse of it, but yeah. I did see it."

He sighs wearily. "Then, I'll explain the severity of your injuries," he says and brings out that paper that you had to chance to peep at earlier. "Your body is fine, no major damage to the muscles, no breaks or fractures to the bones, and no excessive blood loss." He pauses a moment and knits his graying eyebrows together, "Your brain, on the other hand, had suffered severe trauma and has some hemorrhage and contusions near the cerebrum."

You swallow the growing lump in your throat and continue to listen.

"You only received first aid while you inside the tunnel, I believe. Had you been able to have emergency care within the first hour of the injury, this may have been prevented, but professional personnel weren't able to reach you in time. I said that it was miracle that Otonashi-san had survived until this point, but the same could also go for you. We honestly weren't expecting you to awake so quickly after falling into a comatose."

"When did I... blackout?"

"Maybe an hour after being treated. You were out for almost three days."

"I see." You let this seep in. After a moment of repose, you ask a question: "How long?"

"At worst, less than a week."

"..."

You relax into the fluffy comfort of the pillow and exhale. The doctor stands up slowly, ready to let you rest, "I'll be going then. I need to check up on the other patients in this wing." He nods at the two nurses that were silently watching them, sends them away, and begins to follow in suit.

"Wait."

He turns back to you. "Yes?"

"Is... there no chance that I can give my organs to the girl? Instead of Otonashi?"

The doctor looks at you remorsefully. "No. The transplant can't be changed. There's also a high chance for her body to reject your organs. Otonashi-san is the better match."

You can't save him: your savior, the person that saved them from the wreck. You can't even help the guy out. Otonashi is there, dying, and you can't do a _damn thing about it_. If only there was some way to let Otonashi live. He deserves it.

If anyone had to die, you would gladly give up your life just for this hero.

But Otonashi won't live any longer than a week. Unless someone gives him the necessary organs that his body needs.

You remember Otonashi struggling to fill out his life insurance card with heaving breaths, giving everyone that small shard of hope that their life wasn't in vain. Your hands touched the soft corner of your own card and you did the same.

"Hey doc, you have my life insurance card, don't you?"

He takes it out of his breast pocket and shows it to you. "Yes, I do. I was about to store it away along with your medical information. Do you want it back?" You nod slowly, and the old man walks back to you and returns it.

"Doc? I have another question."

"Hm?"

"Can you give Otonashi my organs when I die?" You ask him again.

The doctor stays quiet. You know the chance that him actually consenting to your absurd request is improbable, but you continue, "Give him whatever he needs, a liver, kidneys, lungs, anything at all. I'll be dead before he will be, so it's okay."

"But the heart transplant—"

"Then you can give him my heart as well."

"...I cannot do that," he says, "The risks involved and percentage of success..." He starts to walk away again. "I'm sorry."

You knew that was impossible.

You can't save him. Just the thought of that makes your heart clench with regret and anguish. _Heroes shouldn't die._

Your eyes start to water. "Please," you plead, your voice cracking, "Save him. Even if I can't do anything for him now, you might be able to. Please. Save him. Save Otonashi."

This time, the old man doesn't turn around to look at you, not in your pitiful state. "Doctors are not God; we can't save everyone. All we do is try."

Sobs wrack at your aching body. Your abdomen hurts as your chest heaves heavily while you weep.

"All doctors do is try." He repeats himself solemnly. With the sleeves of your arm, you wipe away your tears of frustration.

You hear him sigh deeply.

"Alright." Huh?

"...Immediately after the heart transplant, I'll do my best to make sure that Otonashi-san survives."

What? "Really?"

"I'll give your organs to him." The doctor finishes evenly. His broad back is still facing you. "There's a huge risk that there will be a complication with the surgery, and after it's complete. No one has ever done something like this before, so there's a good chance that everything will go wrong, to both Otonashi and the girl. I'll have you take responsibility to whatever happens to them even if you're dead. Are you prepared for that?"

You smile widely."I don't mind."

_Heroes don't die._

* * *

**Uh, here****'s a new update. This one is explains (kinda? sorta?) how Otonashi and Kanade were able to be in "Back to Life", despite Otonashi's "lack of a heart" as some readers pointed out. Hopefully, this will fill that little plot hole that was there if anyone was confused about that. So yes, this is like a side story to that if you want this be. I always imagined Igarashi to think of Otonashi as someone akin to a hero, but he may seem to be OOC here compared to the anime.**_  
_

**To be honest, I don't have a clue whether having a transplant, giving the organs to someone, and then receiving new ones from another, like what I did here. This is most likely not even probable or ever done before. But in realm of this AU that this chapter and "Back to Life" is based on, it is, just for the sake of things. I can't imagine this ever happening in the real world. I hardly know bare basics of medicine. :P  
**

**The next update after this should be that really, really, really, late Valentine's Day fic that I have semi-completed (I know what you're thinking: "But that Valentine's Day was months ago!". So why can't Valentines be any day, everyday? Still interested in this, then rejoice if you like Yui/Hinata cause that's what's up next.  
**

**Until then, see ya :)  
**


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